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There's another website similar to this one: Sphere Online Judge (SPOJ) - http://www.spoj.pl/ http://www.spoj.pl/. The problems are much more varied, though. I

by kobs 19y ago

There's another website similar to this one: Sphere Online Judge (SPOJ) - http://www.spoj.pl/ http://www.spoj.pl/. The problems are much more varied, though. I can definitely see the utility in working on these type of problems: a list of exercises to work through when learning a new language, or most of all, improving your problem solving skills. Sometimes I wonder though, why do some people enjoy working on (solved) challenging problems -- rather than tackling something novel?

mmp 19y ago
It can be very interesting to see what other coders did and compare it with your own solution, in the messageboard (when you solve a problem you get access to the corresponding thread). You can compare the actual algorithms and ways to approach the problem, of course, and they can be very varied, so you end up learning a thing or two. And the languages themselves, you can see their strengths and weaknesses in particular areas. It stimulates curiosity and opening your mind to new ways of doing things. I think that's important and valuable because when you think about it, there aren't that many opportunities to do so. Also, when you're tackling something novel, it seems to me you're going to restrict yourself pretty early to tools you already know, and you're not going to try radically new things once you're into it because the penalty would be too high (I may be wrong though).
- jonp 19y ago
  Agreed. There's quite a diversity of solutions ranging from brute-force, through "computer science" optimisations, to clever mathematics. And as someone who had mainly programmed in various versions of Basic before it's been eye-opening to see a range of different languages and their strengths and weaknesses. In particular some of the solutions in J (http://www.jsoftware.com/ http://www.jsoftware.com/) struck me as quite remarkable.
jey 19y ago
Because they're puzzles. It's a fun challenge.
deleted 19y ago
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by kobs 19y ago

mmp 19y ago

It can be very interesting to see what other coders did and compare it with your own solution, in the messageboard (when you solve a problem you get access to the corresponding thread). You can compare the actual algorithms and ways to approach the problem, of course, and they can be very varied, so you end up learning a thing or two. And the languages themselves, you can see their strengths and weaknesses in particular areas. It stimulates curiosity and opening your mind to new ways of doing things. I think that's important and valuable because when you think about it, there aren't that many opportunities to do so. Also, when you're tackling something novel, it seems to me you're going to restrict yourself pretty early to tools you already know, and you're not going to try radically new things once you're into it because the penalty would be too high (I may be wrong though).

jonp 19y ago
Agreed. There's quite a diversity of solutions ranging from brute-force, through "computer science" optimisations, to clever mathematics. And as someone who had mainly programmed in various versions of Basic before it's been eye-opening to see a range of different languages and their strengths and weaknesses. In particular some of the solutions in J (http://www.jsoftware.com/ http://www.jsoftware.com/) struck me as quite remarkable.

jey 19y ago

Because they're puzzles. It's a fun challenge.

deleted 19y ago

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